39th New Zealand Parliament

The 39th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand which began with the general election held on 25 November 1978, and finished with the general election held on 28 November 1981. The dates of the Muldoon Ministry were from 13 December 1978 to 11 December 1981.

The Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon of the National Party, led the Third National Government from 1975 to 1984.

By-elections during 39th Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 39th Parliament.

Electorate and by-election		Date	Incumbent		Cause	Winner
Christchurch Central	1979	18 August		Bruce Barclay	Death		Geoffrey Palmer
Northern Maori	1980	7 June		Matiu Rata	Resignation		Bruce Gregory
Onehunga	1980	7 June		Frank Rogers	Death		Fred Gerbic
East Coast Bays	1980	6 September		Frank Gill	Appointed as Ambassador to US		Gary Knapp

Summary of changes during term

• Bruce Barclay, the Labour MP for Christchurch Central, died in 1979. The ensuing by-election was won by Geoffrey Palmer, also of the Labour Party.
• Matiu Rata, a Labour cabinet minister, resigned from his party in 1979 due to disagreements with its policy towards Māori. In 1980, Rata quit parliament and founded the Mana Motuhake party. Rata then contested the ensuing by-election, but came second. He was replaced by Bruce Gregory of the Labour Party.
• Frank Rogers, the Labour MP for Onehunga, died in 1980. The ensuing by-election was won by Fred Gerbic, also of the Labour Party.
• Frank Gill, the National MP for East Coast Bays, resigned from parliament in 1980 in order to take up a position as New Zealand's ambassador in Washington. The ensuing by-election was won, much to the National Party's surprise, by Gary Knapp of the Social Credit Party.

References

• Bohan, Edmund (2004). Burdon: a man of our time. Hazard Press. ISBN 978-1-877270-90-1. OCLC 62718931. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Chapman, Robert (1999). New Zealand Politics and Social Patterns: Selected Works. Victoria University Press. Retrieved 1 September 2015. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)